Godspeed You! Black Emperor- The Band
Created | Updated May 22, 2003
Godspeed You! Black Emperor are a deliberately
enigmatic band, preferring to be known through their music and little else. Remaining outside the
mainstream of popular music they have crafted six releases (but only four of these are still
available) since 1994, and have come to be the most prominent band in the
"Montreal Post-Rock Movement" that also include Do Make Say Think, A Silver Mt Zion and Fly Pan Am. Their music is best described as instrumental- recordings made of everyday
folk melt into flowing quasi-orchestral music, which rise to crescendos before falling back
into simple melodies.
This term is very hard to define, being used as it is to refer to a wide range of bands. Originally the term was applied to music that seemed to move beyond the confines of Rock, just as "Rock and Roll" changed the music scene by introducing a new set of rules that musicians could base their songs around, Post-Rock breaks these rules and creates new ones. Most Post-Rock music is instrumental, the musicians communicating as classical composers did, through the music alone.
Post-rock bands, such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, also reject what they see as the commercialism of modern rock, preffering to pursue their own agendas rather than monetary success. Due to this
the music can appear inaccessible and it is relatively hard to get to know new bands. It is worth the effort however, as the music is very rewarding and these bands are becoming more popular and may well be the next big thing.
It is worth noting that there is a international post-rock contingent as well, bands such as Mogwai and Sigur Ros, coming from Scotland and Iceland respectively. These bands do differ from the Montreal movement however, being on the whole less darkly brooding and having simpler melodies with less instruments than Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
The band is best described as a collective, members collaborate on different albums and work on side projects, thus dropping out for a while. On their last album there were only nine members of the band: Aidan, Bruce, David, Efrim, Mauro, Norsola, Roger, Sophie and Thierry. Though on at their height the number of members has been twenty: Aidan, Bruce, Thea, Dave, Moya, Mauro, Thierry, Norsola, Efrim, Christophe, Steph, Sylvain, Colin, Jesse, Dan C, Dan D, Shnaeberg, Peter Grayson, Amanda. Certain legends accompany Godspeed, one of these is that all the band live together in a converted warehouse in Montreal they call "hotel2tango", which they also use as a recording studio. Whether this is true I cannot say- it just adds to the mystery surrounding the band.
all lights f*****d on the hairy amp drooling
The elusive first release made in 1994. This is the only recording made of G.Y.B.E. during their
early days- if it can really be considered a release Only 33 copies of these were ever
made and at this stage the band consisted of only Efrim and Mauro. Never having heard this I
cannot add any more to this.
godspeed/fly pan am split 7"
This release, pressed on white vinyl with the track names printed in black on the LP centre, was
given free with a Montreal-based music-zine1 in the autumn
of 1998. It has not been available since, but the tracks can occaisonaly be found in MP3 format
online.
f#a#∞
This was the first of their fully commercially available releases, on
Constellation Records, and has three tracks with a
running time of just over an hour. The album starts with a monotone about the end of the world and
then flows into a dirge theme, that has no defineable beginning or end, starting simply it diverges
and has other melodies that wind their way around the central dark theme with truly beautiful skill.
This dark, brooding, feeling continues throughout this record though relieved sometimes by sweeping
movements that, though simple, are so full of pathos they are almost overpowering.
The highlight of the album, though, is the second track that, though starts somewhat shakily with
a vocal sample and some bagpipes, builds to a piece of music so mournful and apocalyptic
it evokes images of barren, empty lands. The perfect anthem to the end of the world2. As always with
releases from Constellation Records the album includes beautiful, enigmatic, artwork in the release notes, which
are printed on tracing paper.
slow riot for new zero kanada
Released in 1999 this EP consists of 28 minutes of music spread over two tracks. The first
track, of eleven minutes, has a very chilling feel to it, continuing with the apocalyptic theme
of F#A#∞, it seems to mourn for a fallen world. Building slowly it reaches a crescendo and
then bursts through this wall of noise to a melody of simple, intense beauty. The second
track, eighteen minutes, features a recording made in the field of a "survivor", with very strong
views on the American Government. The music interweaves with this sample before, as the sample fades
away, rising in volume and depth of sound- as his anger increases the beauty of the guitars
is highlighted in ever brighter relief. At the end of the track he returns, reading a poem,
and the music continues with him, angry and loud, before dying away once more to a piercing
violin led melody that ends the EP.
levez vos skinny fists comme antennae to heaven/lift your skinny fists like antennae to heaven
A double-album released in 2000, this contains four tracks and is almost two hours long. Its
tracks vary from epic orchestral pieces that seem to encompass the universe to melodies based
around a French nursery rhyme. The highlight of the album is the first track from the second
disc, "They Don't sleep Anymore", beginning with a delightful sample of an old-man talking
about how Coney Island used to be "The play ground of the world" the music that follows is
simply mindblowing. Though, like their other albums, there are elements of despair and apocalypse
this album also has moments of hope and light. There is a redemption present in this release
that has not been present before.
yanqui u.x.o.
Released in 2002 this album contains even more hope than their last. There are no vocal samples, and so this is a return from Levez... which was notable by its number of samples.
The album cover itself contains a spider diagram linking major record companies to weapons manufacturers
and a line drawing of some flying cats and a hammer with the word "Hope". The music is,
again, quite varied but is shot through with more optimism and happiness than their previous
releases. It is as though Godspeed... have decided that the world is not doomed after all.
enigmatic band, preferring to be known through their music and little else. Remaining outside the
mainstream of popular music they have crafted six releases (but only four of these are still
available) since 1994, and have come to be the most prominent band in the
"Montreal Post-Rock Movement" that also include Do Make Say Think, A Silver Mt Zion and Fly Pan Am. Their music is best described as instrumental- recordings made of everyday
folk melt into flowing quasi-orchestral music, which rise to crescendos before falling back
into simple melodies.
What is "Post-Rock"?
This term is very hard to define, being used as it is to refer to a wide range of bands. Originally the term was applied to music that seemed to move beyond the confines of Rock, just as "Rock and Roll" changed the music scene by introducing a new set of rules that musicians could base their songs around, Post-Rock breaks these rules and creates new ones. Most Post-Rock music is instrumental, the musicians communicating as classical composers did, through the music alone.
Post-rock bands, such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, also reject what they see as the commercialism of modern rock, preffering to pursue their own agendas rather than monetary success. Due to this
the music can appear inaccessible and it is relatively hard to get to know new bands. It is worth the effort however, as the music is very rewarding and these bands are becoming more popular and may well be the next big thing.
It is worth noting that there is a international post-rock contingent as well, bands such as Mogwai and Sigur Ros, coming from Scotland and Iceland respectively. These bands do differ from the Montreal movement however, being on the whole less darkly brooding and having simpler melodies with less instruments than Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Band Members
The band is best described as a collective, members collaborate on different albums and work on side projects, thus dropping out for a while. On their last album there were only nine members of the band: Aidan, Bruce, David, Efrim, Mauro, Norsola, Roger, Sophie and Thierry. Though on at their height the number of members has been twenty: Aidan, Bruce, Thea, Dave, Moya, Mauro, Thierry, Norsola, Efrim, Christophe, Steph, Sylvain, Colin, Jesse, Dan C, Dan D, Shnaeberg, Peter Grayson, Amanda. Certain legends accompany Godspeed, one of these is that all the band live together in a converted warehouse in Montreal they call "hotel2tango", which they also use as a recording studio. Whether this is true I cannot say- it just adds to the mystery surrounding the band.
Releases
all lights f*****d on the hairy amp drooling
The elusive first release made in 1994. This is the only recording made of G.Y.B.E. during their
early days- if it can really be considered a release Only 33 copies of these were ever
made and at this stage the band consisted of only Efrim and Mauro. Never having heard this I
cannot add any more to this.
godspeed/fly pan am split 7"
This release, pressed on white vinyl with the track names printed in black on the LP centre, was
given free with a Montreal-based music-zine1 in the autumn
of 1998. It has not been available since, but the tracks can occaisonaly be found in MP3 format
online.
f#a#∞
This was the first of their fully commercially available releases, on
Constellation Records, and has three tracks with a
running time of just over an hour. The album starts with a monotone about the end of the world and
then flows into a dirge theme, that has no defineable beginning or end, starting simply it diverges
and has other melodies that wind their way around the central dark theme with truly beautiful skill.
This dark, brooding, feeling continues throughout this record though relieved sometimes by sweeping
movements that, though simple, are so full of pathos they are almost overpowering.
The highlight of the album, though, is the second track that, though starts somewhat shakily with
a vocal sample and some bagpipes, builds to a piece of music so mournful and apocalyptic
it evokes images of barren, empty lands. The perfect anthem to the end of the world2. As always with
releases from Constellation Records the album includes beautiful, enigmatic, artwork in the release notes, which
are printed on tracing paper.
slow riot for new zero kanada
Released in 1999 this EP consists of 28 minutes of music spread over two tracks. The first
track, of eleven minutes, has a very chilling feel to it, continuing with the apocalyptic theme
of F#A#∞, it seems to mourn for a fallen world. Building slowly it reaches a crescendo and
then bursts through this wall of noise to a melody of simple, intense beauty. The second
track, eighteen minutes, features a recording made in the field of a "survivor", with very strong
views on the American Government. The music interweaves with this sample before, as the sample fades
away, rising in volume and depth of sound- as his anger increases the beauty of the guitars
is highlighted in ever brighter relief. At the end of the track he returns, reading a poem,
and the music continues with him, angry and loud, before dying away once more to a piercing
violin led melody that ends the EP.
levez vos skinny fists comme antennae to heaven/lift your skinny fists like antennae to heaven
A double-album released in 2000, this contains four tracks and is almost two hours long. Its
tracks vary from epic orchestral pieces that seem to encompass the universe to melodies based
around a French nursery rhyme. The highlight of the album is the first track from the second
disc, "They Don't sleep Anymore", beginning with a delightful sample of an old-man talking
about how Coney Island used to be "The play ground of the world" the music that follows is
simply mindblowing. Though, like their other albums, there are elements of despair and apocalypse
this album also has moments of hope and light. There is a redemption present in this release
that has not been present before.
yanqui u.x.o.
Released in 2002 this album contains even more hope than their last. There are no vocal samples, and so this is a return from Levez... which was notable by its number of samples.
The album cover itself contains a spider diagram linking major record companies to weapons manufacturers
and a line drawing of some flying cats and a hammer with the word "Hope". The music is,
again, quite varied but is shot through with more optimism and happiness than their previous
releases. It is as though Godspeed... have decided that the world is not doomed after all.
1 Callled aMAZEine2This track was, in fact, used as part of the soundtrack to the film 28 Days Later
